Stephon Tuitt (DE, Notre Dame) vs Stanford

24 Responses to “Stephon Tuitt (DE, Notre Dame) vs Stanford”

He seemed pretty reckless in his rushes. Struggled at end in one on one and looked better as a pass rushing DT. Lost his balance too much. I thought he got handled pretty easy at the point of attack in the run game, even if he never got driven back much.

Mike Mayock said he was turning into one of the best D linemen in college football and I didn’t come away from this game impressed. Stanford has one of the better offensive lines, and I have to wonder if he’s not just another ND kid who excels against inferior competition, although in fairness this is the first game I’ve really watched of him.

He seemed to get driven back almost consistently from the inside. He has a lot of intensity and aggressive hands, but his hands weren’t necessarily well used. He does seem very erratic in his pass rushing. Reminds me of John Simon in that he’s not a spectacular specimen, but really fights in the trenches.

Personally, I didn’t like him out there at end. There was no explosion off the snap at all. He was handled easily, and his one really good pass rush came from the inside, though I don’t think he’s big enough to play there right now.

Lynch took half a season to click with Cable’s system, and that’s only because he asked for help. IIRC, Darren McFadden didn’t click right away either. I wouldn’t be surprised if Michael needs a little time to be his best in our system.

That’s what I meant. I’m not condemning him. My language was a bit harsh,I suppose. Fully expect him to be a great player. I could easily see him never reaching his full potential, because that potential is just so off the charts.

…joining this off-topic thread, still I will share a few observations from attending three recent VMAC practices:

– like everyone else, I assumed that Tarvaris had the #2 qb job locked up, but Brady Quinn clearly outplayed T-Jack, in terms of decision-making and accuracy, at all three practices. Could be an upset if the competition is truly open.
– a WR or two needs to seize the opportunity with Percy out. Kearse seems the clear #4, and Harper is probably #5, with several guys battling for the #6 slot. A job is there for the taking in the preseason games.
– Christine Michael is an electric talent, and just needs time to get the feel of this zone, cut and go running game. I hope him leaving practice early on Tuesday doesn’t mean he is out for the San Diego game. He really needs to play.
– Bruce Irvin looked good at Sam LB/Elephant before he was injured, and he really needs to heal quickly and get of the field asap.
– the DBs are the best I’ve ever seen in watching decades of the NFL. If Thomas, Chancellor, Sherman, Browner, Thurmond and Winfield stay healthy all season, they could do things never done before…honestly.
– Hoping that a pass rushing DT will emerge once the preseason games start. If Hill, McDaniel or Bennett could get consistent penetration, then this D would move to a whole other level.
– Avril must get and stay healthy for Carolina and hold the fort until Clemons returns. Lots of promising young guys….Mayowa, Schofield, Morgan, etc….but they are totally unproven.
– The best player on the field is Beast….even ahead of Earl and Russell.
– I surely hope that James Carpenter continues to mirror Russell Okung, and him tweaking his foot on Monday is a minor setback. Okung lost his first two seasons to injury and actually tweaked his ankle last August, giving everyone a scare, but of course he was OK and had a great season….hope for the same from James, because he is an elite talent at OG.
– Luke Willson really does seem to be winning the #2 TE job.

Keep in mind that Tuitt played this entire game with a hernia. There was a substantial difference in his play between the healthy half of the season pre hernia (9 sacks, 6 games), and the second half of the season when he played with a hernia (3 sacks, 7 games).

I am no expert on technique, so I will just mention some plays that stood out to me.

At the 1:22 mark, it seemed to me that if he was blatantly held, that would have been a sack.

At the 3:18 mark, he did a good job fighting through an initial double team and a third blocker to make the tackle.

At the 3:58 mark, I thought he did a good job forcing the pitch and then assisting in the tackle of the RB.

At the 4:31 mark, he split a double team for a quick pressure on the QB.

At the 8:38 mark, he was held again and this time it was called.

I agree that his technique still has a ways to go, although that should probably be expected for a true sophomore DL. I think that he makes more plays based on his physical ability than technique at this point, which likely puts him more into the category that Pete and John would prefer, a physical specimen they can improve (by most accounts, he runs around a 4.8 in the 40). Traditionally DL put it all together and start to emerge their third year in college, so I would expect to see a jump in his technique this year.

As for whether he would fit with the Hawks, he is currently between 315-322 lbs (depending on where you look it up) and at 6’6″, he can probably add even more weight if he plays as a three or a five technique.

The other person to take a good look at is Nix, #9, who is the NT. Tuitt is currently projected to go in the top 5-10, while Nix has a chance to go low first round. He doesn’t put up a lot of numbers, but he is consistently disruptive in the middle and we could use a good NT.

some character concerns but I think this guy is a 1st round lock and the best pass rusher not named Clowney. I also think is a more complete DE than clowney and has more versatility to his game. He is excellent at stunts, from what I can tell.

“I tell Jim Harbaugh a lot that he reminds me of his guy Aldon Smith especially when they do a lot of those stunts, he’s really good at that stuff. He can come in tight around that corner and he is really good with his hands. Except he’s longer and taller (than Smith). He’s not as fast as Jevon Kearse but he’s built like him. And he is explosive.

The thing about Aaron is he can play DE or he can play D-tackle or stand up. We have different packages for him. He’s such a good athlete that he can drop back in coverage. What’s really impressive is he’s playing outside backer and getting his hands on the No. 1 receiver and you’re thinking ‘Jeez! This guy can cover a lot of ground.'”

Rob, could you do a piece on the WR’s this year? There are quite few guys that have great size and speed, plus with the sidney rice contract and golden up after this season getting a new flanker would be huge.
couple guys i curious about and like are, Jordan Matthews-Vandy, DeVante Parker-Loiusville, Mike Evans- T A&M, Brandon Coleman-Rutgers and Alan robinson- Penn St<————seems like a guy under the radar has good speed and did well w/so so QB play

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